ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

The first three tracks on Rhye were enjoyable, but any more and I started feeling a bit down in the dumps. Think it would work really well if I'm hungover, but it might depress me. I liked track three the best, Last Dance.

i got really into vaporware at some pt bc of that sebastian thread. so much cool stuff going on there.

Pretty Boy off the tracks list was pretty good. Is the rest of the album like that?

there is a surgeon remix of bee mask that is great too, massive lava flow techno

young galaxy! nice to see it place - had felt v guilty about this slipping off the end of my ballot but not voting for them in trax either. really good album, hadn't liked their previous but this was so pretty and really lived up to the idea of dan lissvik producing dream pop.

and now is the time for the stand-out track "new summer" to get its shine. incredible track, like a balearic taylor swift. "so meet me by the river, let's go for a ride / with the windows down and the stereo loud" >>>>>>>>>>

Didn't get round to listening to this Young Galaxy album. I listened to Shapeshifting a couple of times when it came out but couldn't really get into it. How does this one compare?

def a better and more accessible album than shapeshifting (which i love)

i also didn't get into shapeshifting but really loved this one

"Pretty Boy", "New Summer" (though some of the lyrics here are distractingly on-the-nose imo), "Out The Gate Backwards" probably all you need from this album.

though some of the lyrics here are distractingly on-the-nose imo

e.g. the bit about waiting for the drop always annoys me for some reason

i also really like the incantatory weird-folkiness of "in fire" and "fever"

Think I'll give it a go. It seems like the kind of thing I should love.

Listening to the John Grant album now, nice, very unusual point of view/presentation. The immediate point of reference that comes to mind is The Aluminum Group.

In a nearby, slightly-rockier ballpark I thought the Still Corners album was super slept-on this year.

ah yeah this new summer track is awesome

is anyone (mostly dan) gonna get mad at me if i say the john grant album evokes, like, a goofy version of xiu xiu?

I can't think of a phrase more likely to make me reject a piece of music than "balearic taylor swift" but despite that I am looking forward to listening to the Young Galaxy album

New Summer is incredible, I can leave the rest.

http://i.imgur.com/rMGhn16.jpg?1

56 KA The Night's Gambit (330 points, 13 votes)

Spotify

i also dig "fall for you" on young galaxy but yeah 'new summer' is prob the #1 standout

Dunno this one

the ka album seemed great but ultimately i didn't get to spend enough time with it to give it a vote

is anyone (mostly dan) gonna get mad at me if i say the john grant album evokes, like, a goofy version of xiu xiu?

wait waht

Great album if you're into depressing rap music like me.

hmmm... again i don't wanna complain but there are so many entries on this list that are 'nice enough but a bit boring after a while'. lots of sleepy one-tone music. things had better start kicking a bit more arse in a mo.

For someone who doesn't want to complain, you sure are complaining a lot.

Murky, noirish, old-man hip-hop. I was impressed by it more than I actually enjoyed it.

xpost hah, got me.

love the sound and mood on the ka album, he's a great storyteller, liked how concise it is, totally admire it for being about as good an example of classicist NYC rap as you'll find right now but it's not quite my style enough for me to personally listen to a lot. "peace akhi" was really good, works really well as an album though

ka is awesome but v minor on first listen, needs (deserves) repeat listens imo.

couple standouts:

Peace Akhi
http://youtu.be/OOTdy_vpFIA
Our Father
http://youtu.be/tgsm-paBJJc

I like this one and am hoping that voters also went went for Roc Marciano who released two great albums of a very similar style.

Filling my ignorance vacuum admirably, dl ;)

i don't wanna complain but there are so many entries on this list that are 'nice enough but a bit boring after a while'.

there's quite a bit of stuff that isn't like this as well. it's a really diverse, strong list so far imo

is anyone (mostly dan) gonna get mad at me if i say the john grant album evokes, like, a goofy version of xiu xiu?

wait waht

― SHAUN (DJP), Tuesday, January 28, 2014 11:24 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol the rich singing voice, direct and personal lyrics, and tendency toward arrangements that contrast with the lyrical content. this guy has more of a sense of humor though.

I mean maybe my impression of Xiu Xiu is skewed because the only song I know of is "Support Our Troops" but I feel like you'd have to be approaching Weird Al in order to be the goofy version of Xiu Xiu

I voted, but have no idea what I put down anymore... Trying to figure out what I would get excited about...

thought this was a pretty convincing five-star review of the ka album from last year: http://www.factmag.com/2013/07/26/ka-the-nights-gambit/

Oh, the DJ Q ILM mix! I would like to see that place.

Cold Facts might be this dude's best track - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKlCUHjU7p4

I mean maybe my impression of Xiu Xiu is skewed because the only song I know of is "Support Our Troops" but I feel like you'd have to be approaching Weird Al in order to be the goofy version of Xiu Xiu

― SHAUN (DJP), Tuesday, January 28, 2014 11:29 AM (42 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i mean xiu xiu can be pretty goofy too but in a different way than building an a.m. radio-friendly chorus around agent orange.

Cold Facts might be this dude's best track - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKlCUHjU7p4

― MikoMcha, Tuesday, January 28, 2014 9:30 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I def liked his last album Grief Pedigree better than Nights Gambit

young galaxy really does nothing for me at all

Think I am the only Young Galaxy fan who prefers Shapeshifting over the new one.

I don't think the full Young Galaxy record is essential at all.

New Summer and the Peaking Lights remix of Pretty Boy are the keepers imo.

the previous Ka album was good but left me with very little desire to hear a new one, seems like a one-trick-pony

is that a pun on the album cover?

the previous Ka album was good but left me with very little desire to hear a new one, seems like a one-trick-pony

― some dude, Tuesday, January 28, 2014 11:36 AM (1 minute ago)

this is better though, and if you're into that one trick he does it as well here as anyone probably since "marcberg"

im not really a lyrics guys but he is one of few rappers that make me want to seek out some lyrics sheets and dissect a bit.

I get why people are bored by it tho. The drums are either non existent or dropped way back in the mix, there's not much bass to speak of. No hooks. No pop sensibility. But I def have room for a few albums like this a year.

nice. love the young galaxy album, and better than the already excellent shapeshifting. the donato dozzy is another good one though i think in the end it just missed out for me. i tried rhye but i couldn't get a handle on it. maybe another time. what i heard of john grant was great but i need to spend more time with it. one of the best album covers of the year, at the very least.